How to Make a Custom Magnetic Table

Kevin had a visitor the other day, Joe Allred, another metal artist who is from Arkansas. He brought Kevin something and said, “You’re not going to believe what you can do with these things!” Kevin holds up a narrow black bar, which is a magnet. But what can you do with it?

Kevin has trouble clamping down little things. He shows a Damascus knife blade that he’s been polishing and cleaning up. You have to clamp down the blade, and then you can only work on part of it.

When Joe arrived, he pulled a piece of aluminum, four of these magnets, and a bunch of nuts and bolts from his travel bag. He showed Kevin how to mount them on the piece of aluminum to make a magnetic table, which is perfect when you want to grind or otherwise hold small parts that are hard to hold down.

Then all you’ll need are two clamps on the outside edges – or even one clamp! Or you can drill holes and just screw it right to your table, taking it off when you’re done and screwing it back down when you need it.

Kevin shows how the knife is held down with its entire side completely exposed so he can grind it, polish it, do whatever you want with it. It’s just so simple.

Kevin now shows how the magnetic table, which is sometimes called a magnetic chuck, goes together. Allred used a piece of aluminum for the base so it doesn’t get magnetized and stick to the table. He drilled holes that line up with each magnet to be bolted to the piece of aluminum. He uses some flush mount stainless screws to attach all 4 magnets to the aluminum. He then cuts off the long ends of the last two bolts just to get them out of the way.

Then Kevin exchanges the cutoff wheel for a 120 grit flap disc and, clamps down the aluminum base, and then, after donning his safety gear, works on the knife a little.

Once he’s happy with what the 120 grit has done, he’ll go a couple more steps, like a 200 to 300 finer grit to polish it up a little. Finally Kevin will be able to go to the acid bath and etch the Damascus knife so he can see the pattern.

Kevin knows you can buy these magnetic chucks or magnetic tables. Yes, they’re commercially available, but with this design you can make this any size you want. You can stack the magnets closer or farther apart, or even cover your whole workbench with it.

This is a great idea – Kevin offers a big thank you to Joe and also appreciates you viewers watching his free how-to videos. To see more, click the notification bell on YouTube. Leave a comment on the video there, and Kevin will answer it.

He’s ready to go back to work, but you might want to stick around for another moment to see him underestimate his tools ….